Navigation device used for a route search

• US 7,725,254 B2
• Filed: 09/05/2006
• Issued: 05/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AutoNavigare LLC
• Original Assignee: Xanavi Informatics Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Tsuburaya, Taketo, Amaya, Shinichi, Endo, Yoshinori, Sumizawa, Akio
• Primary Examiner(s): Zanelli; Michael J.
• Application Number:
  US11/514,931
• Publication Number:
  US 20070055443A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,358 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 701/209
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3461 Preferred or disfavoured areas, e.g. dangerous zones, toll or emission zones, intersections, manoeuvre types, segments such as motorways, toll roads, ferries

Abstract

Route search is performed considering the fact that traffic conditions differ according to lane even for the same road. A navigation device performs route search, using link costs (link travel times) classified by lane. For example, the navigation device searches for a route having the lowest total cost to the destination, using link data that determine cost for each lane of a component link of a road on a map. A cost of a lane on which a vehicle runs to move to a next link, being the cost of any lane of the link, is used as a cost of a link on a route.

Claims

1. A navigation device, comprising:

a storage unit configured to store link data for links constituting routes on a map, where at least one link has plural lanes including ones of a left-turn lane, a straight-through lane and a right-turn lane, and where the link data;

identifies each link using an identifier, associates each respective lane with the identifier of the at least one link to which it belongs, and stores respective costs of the respective lanes; and

a route search unit adapted to search for a route having a lowest total cost to a destination, using said link data, including using the respective costs of the respective lanes.

2. A navigation device according to claim 1, wherein:

said route search unit uses, as a cost of a link on a route, a cost of a lane on which a vehicle runs to move to a next link, such being the cost of one of lanes of the link in question.

3. A navigation device according to claim 2, wherein:

said link data includes cost according to time period; and

said route search unit uses, as a cost of a link on a route, a cost of a time period to which an expected time of arrival at the link belongs.

4. The device of claim 1 or 2, further comprising a receiving unit adapted to receive current traffic information including traffic information for respective lanes of links,

wherein when said storage unit stores cost of respective lanes of links, said cost being obtained from the traffic information received by said receiving unit.

5. The device of claim 1:

wherein costs are statistically processed based on traffic information collected in the past and classified according to a collection condition; and

the route search unit uses, as a cost of a link on a route, a cost of a lane on which a vehicle runs to move to a next link this cost having been classified according to a collection condition corresponding to the situation at the time of arrival at the link in question.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein said collection condition of said traffic information collected in the past is at least one of:

type of day, weather and time period.

7. A navigation device comprising:

a storage unit configured to store link data for links constituting routes on a map, where at least one link has plural lanes including ones of a left-turn lane, a straight-through lane and a right-turn lane, and where the link data;

identifies each link using an identifier, associates each respective lane with the identifier of the at least one link to which it belongs, and stores respective travel times of the respective lanes;

a route search unit adapted to search for a route to a destination; and

a travel time calculation unit adapted to calculate a total travel time to said destination, by adding travel time of respective links constituting a route to said destination;

wherein

said travel time calculation unit uses, as a travel time of a link on a route, a travel time of a lane on which a vehicle runs to move to a next link.

8. A navigation device, comprising:

a storage unit configured to store link data for links constituting routes on a map, where at least one link has plural lanes including ones of a left-turn lane, a straight-through lane and a right-turn lane, and where the link data;

identifies each link using an identifier, associates each respective lane with the identifier of the at least one link to which it belongs, and stores respective costs of all respective lanes of the routes; and

a route search unit adapted to search for a route having a lowest total cost to a destination, using said link data, including using the respective costs of the respective lanes.